These Texas Lawmakers Have More Cash on Hand Than Donald Trump
*Correction appended.
When Donald Trump released campaign finance numbers on Monday revealing he had just $1.3 million in the bank at the end of May, collective jaws dropped. His presumptive opponent in the general presidential election, Hillary Clinton, reported having $42 million cash on hand.
But while Trump's numbers are certainly low for a presidential candidate, they'd even be disappointing for some Texas candidates: 14 current Texas elected officials and three former or outgoing officials have more money in their campaign coffers than Trump.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has 17 times more cash on hand than Trump, as of last count; Democratic Houston Sen. John Whitmire had five times more in his account than the real estate mogul.
Trump isn't worried. In a statement following the release of his numbers, he said his campaign is "leaner and more efficient, like the government should be."
Take a look at the Texans and Texas PACs that have more cash on hand than Trump:
-->Filer | As of: | Cash on hand |
---|---|---|
Texans for Greg Abbott | 12/31/15 | $22,470,112 |
Texans for Joe Straus | 2/20/16 | $8,010,792 |
Texans for Dan Patrick | 2/20/16 | $7,832,161 |
John Whitmire | 12/31/15 | $6,625,684 |
Friends of Susan Combs | 12/31/15 | $5,001,529 |
Glenn Hegar Jr. | 12/31/15 | $3,206,751 |
George P. Bush | 12/31/15 | $3,005,492 |
Ken Paxton | 12/31/15 | $2,527,974 |
Rodney Ellis | 12/31/15 | $2,151,567 |
Todd Hunter | 12/31/15 | $1,815,633 |
Kel Seliger | 12/31/15 | $1,458,637 |
Royce West | 12/31/15 | $1,449,770 |
Kevin Eltife | 12/31/15 | $1,404,799 |
Kirk Watson | 12/31/15 | $1,384,990 |
[Troy] Fraser for Texas Senate | 12/31/15 | $1,364,789 |
Jane Nelson | 12/31/15 | $1,345,306 |
Christi Craddick | 12/31/15 | $1,331,927 |
Correction: A previous version of this story included several political action committees — the reports for which are not directly comparable to those for individual candidates. Those numbers have been omitted. It also reported a cash on hand number from an early report for Gary Gates Jr., who ran for Texas Railroad Commissioner. He no longer has more money on hand than Trump.
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